Executive Director, Office of the Director General

Shape the Future of Western Australia

Join a department that’s powering WA’s energy transition and building a bold, diverse economy for generations to come. At the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification (DEED), your work will help drive innovation, support local businesses, and position WA on the global stage. If you're ready to make a real impact - this is where your next chapter begins.

Grow your career with us

Explore our career opportunities and graduate program to discover how you can make a meaningful impact. For current vacancies, visit us on LinkedIn or head to the DEED corporate website.

About the Department

DEED is responsible for securing the State’s energy and economic future, driving innovation and long-term prosperity for all. This includes:

• Ensuring Western Australia is a reliable, efficient and attractive place to do business
• Increasing business investment
• Fostering Western Australia’s skills and capacity now and into the future
• Driving the energy transition

The Department is guided by the following principles which shape our culture, decision-making and strategic direction:

• Lead with empathy and integrity: Act with kindness, respect and care for colleagues, stakeholders and communities. Be authentic and transparent, making grounded decisions that balance immediate needs with long-term priorities.
• Collaborate and connect: Build trust and strong relationships across teams, regions and international offices. Break down silos, share expertise and engage stakeholders constructively to deliver better outcomes together.
• Take ownership and be accountable: Lead at every level by taking initiative, leaning on strengths and empowering others. Define roles, responsibilities and decision pathways clearly, ensuring accountability is visible and consistent.
• Focus on progress and continuous improvement: Prioritise finding practical solutions. Reflect, learn and adapt quickly to changing circumstances, continuously improving processes to enhance efficiency and reduce duplication.
• Stay aligned to purpose and impact: Keep connected to DEED’s bigger picture, enabling Western Australia’s long-term prosperity. Align actions to strategy, work across government and deliver innovative solutions that create enduring value for the community.

About the Role

Tenure: Fixed Term (up to 3 years), full time with the possibility of extension

The Executive Director, Office of the Director General, provides high-level strategic leadership, executive coordination and operational oversight for the Office of the Director General. The role ensures the effective delivery of ministerial services, executive correspondence, strategic projects, rapid response activities and whole-of-agency coordination to support the Director General in meeting government priorities and departmental obligations.

This is a pivotal executive leadership role requiring sound judgement, discretion and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, sensitive and complex public sector environment. The Executive Director will lead the Office of the Director General in delivering timely, accurate and strategically aligned advice, documentation and support across the Department’s portfolios.

The position will provide strategic oversight of key office functions, including Ministerial Services, Director General correspondence and diary coordination, governance support, and a Project and Strategic Response capability. The role will also support coordination of deliverables linked to executive performance, departmental priorities and government expectations.

In this role, you will:

• Provide strategic leadership and coordination for the Office of the Director General, ensuring effective oversight of cross-portfolio priorities, executive correspondence, ministerial servicing and strategic departmental initiatives.
• Lead the strategic management, governance and performance of ministerial services, ensuring correspondence, Cabinet submissions, parliamentary responses and briefing materials meet government standards for quality and timeliness.
• Provide professional and strategic advice to the Director General, executive leadership, portfolio Ministers and relevant senior stakeholders on high-level policy, reform and whole-of-agency matters
• Oversee correspondence and workflow systems for the Director General, including triage, drafting, quality assurance and timely delivery of incoming and outgoing correspondence.
• Establish and lead a Project and Strategic Response capability to support urgent priorities, emerging issues, special projects and time-critical departmental requirements.
• Develop and maintain effective relationships with ministerial offices, senior executives, central agencies, international offices and external stakeholders to support collaboration, issue resolution and high-level engagement.
• Ensure strategic advice is aligned and consistent across the Department’s diverse portfolios, including State Development, Trade and Investment, Science and Innovation, Energy and Decarbonisation, and International Education.
• Provide authoritative advice and briefings to the Director General and senior leadership team on whole-of-agency issues, emerging risks, program progress and government expectations.
• Lead a culture of excellence, responsiveness and integrity by setting standards, driving continuous improvement and embedding best practice in executive, ministerial and correspondence management.
• Manage staff performance, capability, development and wellbeing to ensure the Office of the Director General remains skilled, agile and responsive to changing demands.
• Contribute to strategic departmental planning and corporate governance, ensuring office outputs align with departmental priorities, legislative responsibilities and public sector obligations.

What You Will Bring

You will be a highly capable executive leader with experience operating in complex, high-pressure and politically sensitive environments. You will bring strong judgement, strategic awareness and the ability to provide clear, practical and authoritative advice on matters of significance to government and the Department. 

You will also bring:

• Proven experience in corporate governance, strategic management and executive-level leadership.
• Strong conceptual, analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to respond rapidly to whole-of-department issues.
• Highly developed interpersonal, communication, negotiation and influencing skills at executive level.
• Experience and knowledge of executive services, ministerial servicing, Cabinet and parliamentary processes, correspondence management and whole-of-government coordination.
• The ability to build productive relationships across government, with ministerial offices, executives, central agencies, international representatives and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to manage sensitive information, contentious issues, reputational risk and competing government and departmental priorities.
• A strong commitment to public sector values, ethical decision-making, integrity, accountability and service excellence.

Essential Requirements

To be successful in this role, you will need to demonstrate:

• Proven experience in corporate governance, strategic management and executive-level leadership, including the ability to apply high-level conceptual, analytical and problem-solving skills to whole-of-department matters requiring strategic and rapid responses.
• developed interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to influence, negotiate and deliver outcomes at executive level. 
• Experience and knowledge of executive services and functions

Desirable

• A tertiary qualification in a relevant discipline.
• Knowledge of Executive Government procedures and processes.

Further information about the role and the expected leadership behaviours can be found in the attached Job Description Form. Assessment of leadership behaviours may be included in the recruitment process.

How to apply

To apply, click ‘Apply for Job’ at top or bottom of this page and follow the prompts. Please submit the following:

• A covering letter (two pages maximum) demonstrating your skills and experience in relation to the specific requirements outlined in the Job Description Form.
• A current CV detailing your skills, work history and key achievements. Please include contact details of two referees – ideally including your current or most recent line manager.

Your application must be submitted online. To avoid any last-minute system issues, we recommend submitting your application well ahead of the closing time.

DEED may conduct further search activities or extend the closing date, if required to supplement the field of applicants. 

Interested in more information?

For information regarding these positions, you are encouraged to contact Rebecca Brown, Director General on (08) 6277 30***or *************@deed.wa.gov.au. 

To learn more about what we do and how to prepare your application, please refer to the Applicant Information Pack.

Supporting diversity and inclusion

As an equal opportunity employer, the department is committed to building an inclusive and diverse workplace and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. Preference may be given to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, people of diverse sexualities, and young people.

If you have any communication or access needs and require adjustments to take part in the application process, please contact our Talent Team at ******@deed.wa.gov.au. We are committed to providing a fair and supportive recruitment experience for everyone.

Additional job information

Applications must be submitted prior to the closing date and time specified in the job advertisement. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Applicants deemed suitable may be considered for appointment to similar roles within the department for up to 12 months following the completion of this recruitment process.

Successful candidates will be required to obtain a National Police Clearance before commencing employment. Some positions may also require an Australian Government Security Clearance.

Closing Date: Your online application must be submitted online prior to the closing date and time - 3:00 PM on Friday, 28 August 2026 (AWST)